Chapter Sixty-One: The Black Dragon Mountain Empire

Luo Yuan walked through this immense metropolis, dazzled by its splendor. The surrounding buildings displayed a myriad of architectural styles, many of them so breathtakingly beautiful they made his heart tremble. Crowds surged along the streets, and above, a hundred meters in the air, countless people sped by in flight. To call them all “people” felt almost inadequate, for their appearances were wildly diverse—within just five minutes, Luo Yuan saw “humans” ranging in height from nearly ten meters tall to as small as an infant on Earth.

Their skin came in every imaginable hue. Some even had heads shaped in the most bizarre ways. Yet most still featured two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, though their faces might be covered in fur or adorned with strange markings.

“Planet-level, stage six; planet-level, stage nine; star-level, stage three; planet-level, stage one; star-level, stage five…” With Babata’s help, Luo Yuan and Luo Feng discerned the strength of many passersby. On this street of Dragon Coil Star, the endless throngs were almost all at the planetary level; many were even star-level. Any one of them, dropped onto Earth, would be an existence “beyond a war god.”

“I’ve already called the planetary service line,” Babata said. “The Black Dragon Mountain Empire’s administrative building on this planet is a little over two hundred kilometers from here. Our first task upon arriving at Dragon Coil Star is to join the Black Dragon Mountain Empire and obtain citizenship.”

“Let’s go,” Luo Yuan replied.

The two immediately rose into the air, flying a hundred meters above the ground—the standard flight altitude here. After some distance, they saw a massive structure: a sculpture of a black dragon coiled around a high mountain—this was the Black Dragon Mountain Empire’s administrative building on Dragon Coil Star.

At the entrance stood two burly guards, nearly six meters tall, their skin the color of bronze.

“Hm? They’re Silverstream Guards!”

“They really are Silverstream Guards.”

The two giant guards instantly stood at attention, faces breaking into welcoming smiles. When Luo Feng reached the door, they even stepped forward eagerly to open it. “Gentlemen, please come in.”

Entering the lobby, Luo Yuan casually glanced at the directory describing the functions of each floor and soon found the one they needed.

“Thirty-two!”

Beep!

Whoosh!

The elevator shot upward without the slightest tremor, stopping at the thirty-second floor.

“Good day, gentlemen.” A woman with rabbit ears, as beautiful as an elf from myth, floated over, bowed slightly, and smiled. “How may I assist you?”

“We wish to apply for Black Dragon Mountain Empire citizenship,” Luo Yuan replied with a smile. In the universe, it was essential to have official citizenship to conduct many affairs.

“Citizenship?” The receptionist looked surprised.

“Gentlemen, please proceed to the second-to-last room on the left,” she instructed.

“Thank you!” Luo Yuan replied.

The receptionist’s eyes sparkled. She thought to herself, “He actually thanked me, a receptionist! Now, this is the bearing of a truly well-bred scion of a great family. Even with three Silverstream Guards in tow, there isn’t the slightest trace of arrogance!”

…

Knock, knock, knock. Luo Yuan rapped on the door.

“Come in,” came a resonant voice from within.

Luo Yuan pushed open the door into a spacious office where two staff members sat—both were thin, black-skinned men with blood-red eyes. One glanced up casually, but when he saw the three Silverstream Guards behind Luo Yuan and Luo Feng, his face immediately broke into a formal, enthusiastic smile. “Gentlemen, how may I be of service?”

“We’d like to apply for Black Dragon Mountain Empire citizenship,” Luo Feng said with a smile. Citizenship in a primary-level cosmic civilization was worth little, but as an intermediate civilization, the Black Dragon Mountain Empire’s citizenship was quite decent. At least while they were still weak, Luo Yuan had no intention of leaving its domain. Once they reached the level of “universal-class expert” or higher, national affiliation mattered little.

“Oh? May I ask what your previous citizenship was? Do you have release documents from your former country?” the red-eyed man inquired politely.

“Stateless,” Luo Yuan replied.

“Stateless?” The man seemed slightly taken aback, studying Luo Yuan and Luo Feng more closely, then glancing at the three Silverstream Guards behind them. Normally, ordinary inhabitants of a planet could not obtain citizenship unless they reached the planetary level. The prerequisite for citizenship was reaching “planet-level” strength; non-citizens who entered certain planets received no imperial protection. If an ordinary person reached planetary level, their first application for citizenship would be granted. But for two people accompanied by three Silverstream Guards, could they be ordinary by any stretch?

“They’re probably elite talents nurtured by some power, just now venturing into the world,” the red-eyed man mused.

“Gentlemen, please stand here without moving,” he said with a smile.

“All right,” Luo Yuan replied, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

The man pressed a device on his forearm. Beep—a veil of dreamlike light enveloped Luo Yuan and Luo Feng.

Beep-beep!

The instrument sounded; the red-eyed man glanced down at the screen, which displayed in universal script: “No record found.”

“Since you’ve never held citizenship before, many steps can be skipped,” he said with a smile. “You only need to pay a processing fee of one hundred Black Dragon coins, and everything will be settled.”

“On Dragon Coil Star, you need Black Dragon coins for many transactions,” Luo Yuan remarked, flipping a Qianwu coin from his hand. “Please break this for me.”

“A Qianwu coin!” The clerk was secretly delighted. He quickly took out a stack of special paper bills, thin as cicada wings, and handed a small pile to Luo Yuan. “Sir, here are nine hundred Black Dragon coins.” At the same time, he slipped the Qianwu coin into his pocket, took out one hundred Black Dragon coins, and fed them into the adjacent machine, which devoured them instantly.

After about twenty minutes, Luo Yuan and Luo Feng received their identification documents, officially entering the citizen registry of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

With citizenship, they could now conduct most official business. As the saying goes—without status, one can hardly take a single step.

“All right, next we need to open a Virtual Universe Network account,” Luo Yuan said, anticipation in his voice.

They took to the air once more. Over Dragon Coil City, the sky was wide, and the density of airborne traffic was not high, allowing them to fly quickly.

…

Dragon Coil City, Virtual Universe Company.

“Gentlemen, how may I assist you?” A beautiful woman in a red uniform, with a furry tail, bowed slightly and smiled.

“Account registration,” Luo Yuan said directly.

“For registration, how many years of Virtual Universe Network access would you like to purchase? We offer packages for one hundred, one thousand, or ten thousand years. The annual fee is ten Black Dragon coins or 0.008 Qianwu coins,” the receptionist explained smoothly.

“Do you have consciousness-link helmets available here?” Luo Yuan asked.

On Earth, the helmets manufactured by humans could not access the Virtual Universe Network. However, an intelligent lifeform like Babata could easily connect.

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